Setting Sound Levels

Has anyone actually learnt How to set up the sound levels in your theatre or is there an "expert" who says you have do do it my way and yet they cannot explain to you why they do it their way. If you can hear hiss, or noise or your speakers sound overloaded or distorted, then it is time to learn how to set up the levels in your audio desk. This article by Yamaha will explain it all, please remember to turn your amplifier gains way down before you start setting your levels. http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/WrappedTextDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D48551%252526CTID%25253D227500,00.html In summary: 1. Your cd player will have a nominal line output, it may be fixed at 774mV as it is not usually a 600 ohm feed, but a 10Kohm feed (domestic). 2. Set the slide fader to 0dB which is the black line at the 3/4 mark (3/4 of 1 volt is 775 mV) 3. Set the main fader to 0dB which is the black line at the 3/4 mark (3/4 of 1 volt is 775 mV) 4. Adjust the channel gain which is usually a rotary knob so you get 0VU on the desk output meter. 5. Adjust you power amp input level, usually a rotary know, for the desired sound level in the theatre. You now have the ideal compromise between best signal to noise (getting rid of the hiss) and not running out of headroom (distorting the sound coming out of the speakers. Hope this explains things and helps improve the sound in some of Perths theatres. Links: Line Level - Wikepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level